In a bid to gain a more comprehensive picture of health in Lochee in recent years, Marlyn. Glen has written to Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon asking for more detailed data on the individual “intermediate zones and data zones” that make up the multi-member Lochee ward on Dundee City Council.

Ms. Glen said,

” The Lochee ward now includes communities that in the past had their own council representation.

“The report presented (by NHS Tayside) to the Planning Partnership recognises this by recording population figures for each of the areas of Menzieshill, Charleston, Lochee, Balgay, Clement Park, Dryburgh, Gowrie Park, Benvie/Denhead of Gray and Beechwood.

” The Registrar General does publish various health data for intermediate zones which are termed “Lochee” “Balgay” , “Charleston” and “Menzieshill.”
“These neighbourhood statistics are at the root of policy-making on many health issues.
“Their great advantage is that they are continually updated and used for policy-making rather than being dependent on Census data which may be years out of date.
“Sharing them is essential for public awareness and involvement in decision-making on these issues.”
Ms Glen added the Scottish Government regularly produces data throughout the year on the numbers claiming job seekers allowance in all areas of Dundee.
Within the Lochee ward area, figures are published for Lochee East, Lochee West, Balgay, the Charleston area (“Camperdown”) and the Menzieshill area ( “Ninewells”)
Ms. Glen has asked for the following information for intermediatezones/data zones in the Lochee ward :

The name and population of each data zone and its age structure.

Estimated percentage of population prescribed drugs for anxiety, depression or psychosis; and the year that this estimate applies to.

Percentage of children breastfeeding at the 6 to 8 week review; and the year that this applies to.

Emergency hospital admissions – both sexes – aged 65 and over – rate per 100000 population; and the year that these apply to.

Percentage of women smoking at booking: and the period (years) that this applies to.

Percentage vaccinated against MMR1 by 5 years of age; and the year that this applies to.

Hospital admissions for alcohol misuse – rate per 100000 population; and the period (years) that this applies to.

Hospital admissions for drugs misuse – rate per 100000 population ; and the period (years) that this applies to.

Labour has lodged a Freedom of Information request to Dundee City Council to make public the workings of its Changing for the Future Board which meets on a “private and confidential basis” to oversee the forthcoming cuts in council budgets.

Details of agendas, minutes, background papers and reports prepared for the Board have been requested to be made public.

Marlyn Glen MSP said,

” The city faces unparalleled £20 million cuts in council services next year to achieve the council tax freeze ordered by the SNP

“The public and the media have the right to demand that all possible information related to the Board’s deliberations be made public.

“The SNP, however, prefer secrecy and silence.

“All of the other political parties on the council quite correctly refused to participate in the confidentiality and concealment that characterises the operations of the SNP’s Board.

“This Board does not work in the interests of Dundee.

“It works in the interests of the SNP.”

Ms Glen added,

” The heavy irony of the behaviour of this Secrecy and Silence Board are the remarks of SNP Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon earlier this year.

” She said that the public had a right to expect ‘openness and transparency which is exactly what they’ll get with strong local and national champions from the SNP’ ”

Marlyn Glen is calling on Finance Secretary John Swinney to take “determined action to help Dundee” in his Scottish Budget statement.

On the eve of the Scottish Budget, she said,

” Dundee stands to lose most from public sector job cuts because the city has the greatest percentage of numbers employed in the public sector of all the four main cities in Scotland.”

Ms. Glen said that a survey earlier this year by accountants UHY Hacker Young showed Dundee as having 38 per cent of its workforce in the public sector.

This was 3 per cent higher than Aberdeen with 35 per cent, and 7 per cent higher than both Edinburgh and Glasgow with 31 per cent.

Compared with Scotland overall, Dundee has a disproportionately higher number of public sector posts because of having both a large teaching hospital, Ninewells, and two universities located in the city.

She said,

“Both education and the health service in the city now face the grievous prospect of a large number of posts being lost.

“In the private sector, the cutting of Dundee’s affordable housing allocation by almost half this year has hit the local construction sector hard.

” The Scottish Government must produce a Budget that will allow Dundee City Council, NHS Tayside and local businesses to safeguard jobs and to strengthen the local economy”

Marlyn Glen, has released information she has obtained from the Scottish Government which shows that in the last two-year period of the previous Labour-led administration in Dundee there were increases in expenditure per pupil in both Dundee primary and secondary schools in both cash terms and in real terms, after taking inflation into account.

These latest available figures cover the period 2007-08 to 2008-09.

Ms. Glen said,

” More money being spent on pupils’ education in Dundee helps them to fulfil their potential and to transform their life chances.

“Investment in education is an investment in the future of our city and in their future as well”

Spending on primary school pupils in Dundee rose from £4,395 in 2007-08 per pupil to £4,823 in 2008-09 per pupil

This represents an increase in spending of £428 per pupil in cash terms and an increase of 6.7 per cent in real terms, taking inflation into account.

In doing so, the expenditure rose to the Scottish average

In the secondary sector in the city, spending on secondary school pupils in Dundee rose from £6,665 in 2007-08 per pupil to 6,958 in 2008-09 per pupil

This represents an increase in spending of £293 per pupil in cash terms and an increase of 1.5 per cent in real terms, taking inflation into account.

In doing so, the expenditure per secondary pupil overtook the Scottish average by £293.

Ms. Glen said,

” More money being spent on pupils helps them to fulfil their potential and to transform their life chances.

“Investment in education is an investment in the future of our city and in their future as well”

Marlyn Glen is supporting calls by Councillor Richard McCready, Labour candidate for Dundee City West, for the Mills Observatory to remain within public ownership and to remain free to the public.

She said,

“Dundee’s international achievements in astronomy were marked last year in the International Year of Astronomy

” Dundee has provided two Astronomers Royal for Scotland; Malcolm Longair, appointed in 1980, and Thomas Henderson, the 19th century Dundonian astronomer who was the first person to measure correctly the distance between Dundee and the star Alpha Centauri, the largest component of the nearest star system to the Earth.

” I tabled a motion then asking the Scottish Parliament to acclaim the work of Dundee-born Williamina Fleming, who has a crater on the Moon named in honour of her work in the late 19th. and early 20th . century in the classification of stars.

” With such prestigious recognition for the work of Dundonians in the field of astronomy, this excellent resource for science education must remain in the public sector.”

Marlyn Glen has renewed her appeal to SNP-controlled Dundee City Council to “share with the people of Dundee all of the information that the council already has to prepare them for the effect of the £20 million cuts that will hit Dundee as a result of the SNP Government’s imposition of a council tax freeze.”

Ms. Glen said,

“People in Dundee want an explanation of what choices of cuts the SNP council are making and why.

” The SNP remain loathe to have a discussion with the public about the cuts and the consequences of their decisions for the future of Dundee.

“They prefer instead a ‘Behind Closed Doors Committee’ where decisions on cuts are concealed from the public.”

Ms. Glen said that on Perth and Kinross Council, where the SNP form part of a coalition administration, the SNP are giving people the opportunity to make their views known on the future provision of council services in a variety of ways.

She said,

“Perth and Kinross Council are consulting their council tax payers to ‘help to inform these important decisions.’

“By contrast, in Dundee, the SNP’s fear of blame for the cuts means there is no no dialogue with Dundonians whose opinions would make a considerable positive contribution on savings and services.”

She added,

” In June, the Finance Committee of the Scottish Parliament said that all-publicly funded bodies such as councils should ‘show far greater leadership by discussing in more open and realistic terms the impact that the budget cuts will have and the options that are available to deal with these cuts.’

Marlyn Glen has dismissed nationalist claims that the number of apprenticeships has more than doubled in Dundee thanks to SNP policies as “the SNP trying to take credit for the proposals of others.”

Ms. Glen said,

” Thanks to Labour demands, the SNP Government were to guarantee the provision of an extra 7,800 apprenticeships to enable the Scottish Budget to be approved for the 2009-10 financial year.

“Labour emphasised the need for increased support and investment in apprenticeship training

” Labour’s proposals also saw an Apprenticeship Summit that brought together employers, unions and business to ensure that Scotland’s apprentices have the skills to take advantage of the economic upturn. ”